It has been revealed a limited edition charity t-shirt produced in partnership between The Spice Girls and Comic Relief’s ‘gender justice’ campaign was produced at a Bangladesh factory where women were paid the equivalent of 35p per hour.
An investigation by the Guardian has uncovered that the top, which retailed for £19.40, was produced in conditions where shift workers were underpaid and abused verbally. Workers were, reportedly, made to work up to 16 hours a day and called ‘daughters of prostitutes’ by managers if targets weren’t hit.
Comic Relief and a spokesperson for the band have reiterated to Grazia that they were unaware and appalled by the factory’s conditions, the factory denied the findings to the Guardian, saying, they were, ‘simply not true’. Yet, evidence of low-wage contracts with machinists paid £82 (8800Tk) per month, 16-hour shifts and verbal abuse be management was also reported.
It appears that Comic Relief and The Spice Girls were working under the assumption that a factory they had vetted would be used to create the t-shirt. However, the supplier awarded the contract to a different and un-vetted factory without notifying The Spice Girls or Comic Relief.
'Comic Relief is shocked and concerned by the allegations in the Guardian,' a spokesperson from the charity told Grazia today. 'No one should have to work under the conditions described in the piece. To be very clear, both Comic Relief and The Spice Girls carried out ethical sourcing checks on the supplier Represent told us they would be using for production of the T-shirts. Represent then switched the supplier to Stanley/ Stella, who used the factory where this alleged mistreatment occurred, without telling either The Spice Girls or Comic Relief. Represent have acknowledged this in their statement and have taken full responsibility for the selection of Stanley/Stella without our knowledge. We have requested an independent investigation of the factory. Represent have confirmed they will be providing refunds - please email orders@represent.com”
'The band are deeply concerned about these allegations,' a spokesperson for The Spice Girls said to Grazia. 'The Spice Girls launched this campaign with the intention of using their voices to champion equality for women and girls, and help to make much needed changes and advancements in this area .It is not acceptable that anyone should have to work under the conditions highlighted in your findings. It is heartbreaking to hear about the treatment that these women receive.'
The spokesperson continued, 'The Spice Girls team signed a contract with Represent (an online clothing sales platform) after being given full written assurances by the company that the suppliers of the t-shirts had robust ethical sourcing – and this was shared with Comic Relief. This is something that was checked on multiple occasions in writing, and it was only after the contract was signed, without informing anyone, that they changed the manufacturer to Stanley & Stella, who then used the Interstoff factory to create the T-shirts. Represent did not make the Spice Girls team or Comic Relief aware of this change or seek approval.
'The band are collectively shocked, upset and appalled by The Guardian's findings into the Interstoff factory and, as well as demanding explanations from Represent, they have committed to personally fund an independent investigation into the factory’s working conditions. The band intend to demand that Represent donate their profits from this initiative to localised campaigns with the intention to end such injustice.'
The t-shirts, were sold in November and ironically bore a crass feminist slogan, ‘#IWannabeASpiceGirl’. Money raised was to be donated to a fund that championed equality. Holly Willoughby and Sam Smith were just some of the celebrities who wore the t-shirt in support.
Liz Warner, chief executive of Comic Relief told the Independent at the time, ‘Right now, this movement for equality is uniting the world in the most spectacular way and this very generous gift is going to help us support even more organisations fighting for the rights of women and girls here in the UK.’
Since the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, which killed 1,134 garment workers in Bangladesh, the exploitations in the supply chain have been impossible to deny. Without an international body governing the welfare of factory workers, abuses like that attached to this charity t-shirt will continue to take place.